Springtime in Melbourne screams freshly cut grass, flowers blossoming, horse racing and, generally, AFL finals.
With fans and supporters filling the streets, donning their side's colours in the form of scarves, guernseys, flags, and, at times, face paint, Melbourne is the place to be.
The city buzzes as it comes to life.
However, after a record-breaking AFL season that witnessed 7,753,251 people flock to the grounds to watch their team, its corresponding finals series will be underwhelming in comparison.
The 2024 Finals Series will see another two games (the third being the elimination final between Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs) be hosted at the MCG, whilst non-Victorian clubs dominated the prime positions inside the top eight.
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Games have been at the SCG (capacity of 48,000), Adelaide Oval (53,500), Gabba (42,000) and will be at ENGIE Stadium (23,500) this weekend for the Giants-Lions bout.
This weekend is also the fourth occasion since 2006 (MCG refurbishment) that Melbourne won't host an AFL finals match (excluding COVID-impacted years).
AFL Finals weekend away from Victoria
| Year | Game | Final | Venue |
| 2006 | FRE vs MELB | Semi-final | Subiaco |
| WCE vs WB | Semi-final | Subiaco | |
| 2006 | SYD vs FRE | Preliminary Final | Stadium Australia |
| ADE vs WCE | Preliminary Final | Football Park | |
| 2015 | FRE vs HAW | Preliminary Final | Subiaco |
| WCE vs NM | Preliminary Final | Subiaco | |
| 2024 | PORT vs HAW | Semi-final | Adelaide Oval |
| GWS vs BL | Semi-final | ENGIE Stadium |
It means that a severe drop-off in crowd attendance is set for this year's finals series, given the diminished crowd capacities at non-Victorian venues.
As a result, the AFL could see one of its lowest finals attendances in nearly two decades.
In 2015, which saw the penultimate weekend played at Subiaco, 519,053 fans witnessed Hawthorn storm to its three-peat.
The 2006 finals campaign had multiple weeks away from Melbourne before a thrilling West Coast-Sydney decider for the second consecutive year, totalling 532,178 fans across the nine games.
Estimated 2024 Finals attendance
| Week | Attendance |
| 1 | 227,019 |
| 2 (ENGIE Stadium/Adelaide Oval) | 77,000* |
| 3 (SCG/MCG) | 148,024* |
| 4 (MCG) | 100,024* |
| TOTAL | 552,067* |
(Weeks 2-4 use max. capacities of stadiums and, therefore, is an estimation*).
Fortunately for the AFL, the Western Bulldogs (Marvel Stadium) and Geelong (GMHBA Stadium) both played home finals at the MCG to boost the numbers up.
